A toast

I'd like to propose a toast, not to the Cubs, their management, or anyone else in the upper tier of influence.

This toast goes out to all of you. Although we all feel empty or even crushed right now, I know that in the time to come, all of us will carry away something worth remembering for all the time that's passed between this past spring and now: camaraderie.

In terms of baseball, it's something that I was raised without; at least outside of my own small family, as a Cubs fan growing up in St. Louis (during the 80's, of all times). It's something I was able to enjoy during a few years I spent in central Illinois, and which I now miss dearly as an east coast resident.

Thank goodness for this virtual place, and the way it has brought all of us together. The highs felt higher, and the lows were more bearable when there was someone who felt like you did; when there was a way to speak out and be heard, or even better just to listen to others who share the same passion that you do.

This toast is to all of you. I never said much here on my own, but I want all of you to know that it was always my pleasure to come by and see what was happening, to learn from the old timers, and to get caught up in the emotion of what we will remember as a very special time. I'm sure I'm not alone in any of these sentiments.

Thank you all... I look forward to what would otherwise be a cold winter that will instead be warmed by your company, and I can't wait until the spring... when our journey continues.

Jason